Film-making Process

This index shows the post of all the different processes involved in making the thriller opening. It includes everything from music to editing.

• Ideas For My Thriller Opening
• Storyboard Version One
• Storyboard Version Two
• Research Into Film Classification
• Learning How To Use FinalCut Pro 10
• Making the Soundtrack
• Consent Forms
• Questionnaires 
• Film Schedule and Prop List

Consent Forms

Before filming I had to ask for the consent of the actors. I looked at a site called uScreen which educates young people who want to become filmmakers. From this I learned how to go about asking permission and who I need to get permission from.

The outdoor clips (which in the end were not included in my film) were filmed on the school premise so therefore I had to ask the school for permission before filming.

Additionally in the outdoor clips I had extras who were to play the parts of the friends. I had to ask for their permission before filming so I asked them to sign a consent form.

The consent form included what would occur during the filming and when the filming would take place. I made sure that the participants understood that the clips would be a part of my exam project and if they signed the consent form it meant that they understood what would happen with the film.

This is an example of the consent form. I have blurred out the signature to protect the individual's
identity.  

Editing the Video

 I started the editing by importing all of the clips into final cut pro x ready to be put into sequence. By clicking new project I created a timeline for the videos where I can edit them and put them into place. Here I also laid down the music which I used to set the video timings to.The first thing I did was to put in a black screen break between the beginning of the soundtrack and the beginning of the actual clip.

The first clip is of the stalker walking down the alleyway. Due to unfortunate time restrictions I had to film during the day which mean that I had to add colour correction to make it seem as if it was filmed at night. To do this I went into the colour corrections tab and used one of the presets called "Night Time". The lighting in the clip is different to the other clips so I used the contrast and saturation sliders and the colour wheel to tweak the preset slight and get the right tone I wanted for each clip. It made the clips look like they were all filmed in a similar area which they are supposed to be . The tone I used was slightly blueish which resembles the night sky. I had to lower the contrast quite significantly to get the darkness of night.

 The first two shots are actually part of one long clip but between the two shots I added another black break screen. This was to create short punchy clips to show the increasing drama and suspense.  I went through the same process of colour correcting before shorting the clip to fit the music.

Throughout editing I used the soundtrack as a strict timeline so I did not go over the time limit. Every clip had to be edited down to the beat. The clips of the stalker walking I slowed down to match the beat but to also a sense of calmness before the tension of the video escalates to a fast pace climax.

After putting all the clips together and cutting them down I realised that opening would be too long and would not fit to soundtrack. I decided it would be best to take out the outside clips as they were no as continuous as I would have like them to be. The lighting kept changing as the sun would go behind the clouds. This was very obvious and it showed that the clips were filmed at different times. It broke the continuity so I decided it was best that I got rid of this scene.

The clips that I had filmed inside did not need any colour correction as I had set up the lighting to create a warm light but with shadows. It gave a homely feel to it whilst implying a hidden danger. Unlike the two first clips these clips were filmed on a tripod to give stability to the camera. The use of hand-held camera work for the first two clips was to create a chaotic feel to the clip whilst making the audience feel like they are right behind the stalker and following. It creates a parallel between the audience's view and the stalker's intentions in the opening sequence. These clips are played back at normal speed as they were in time music. However some clips had been speed up to create a erratic feel such as the clip focusing on the stalker's hands.

To create the flicker effect of some of the clips I copied the video, then overlaid it on top of the main timeline and change the opacity. By moving the clip back so it was a few seconds behind created the flickering effect I desired which was similar to the flicker effect of 'Se7en'.

Titles also followed that same flicker effect. I created the effect in the same way as I did for the clips. To add a title I went into Final Cut Pro x's library of preset titles and picked 'centered'. This title also had a fade added to it. It gave it a clear and less abrupt way of appearing on the screen. If I had just placed it without any transitions it would not look as neat.

I faded out the last clip to match the fade out of the music. It adds a calm before the rest of the film which would be placed after the opening. The clip itself cuts to black however the titles stays on screen for longer before fading out. 

Filming Schedule and Prop List

Before filming I created a filming schedule so I knew what shots to film and when. Over three days I filmed the outdoor clips (which I did not us in the end) and the indoor clips such as the scribbling out of faces in pictures. 

 I knew the importance of filming each scene on the same day and preferable within a short time period. If I had to come back to film it would have meant that there would a slight change in scenery such as lighting change or a missing prop. In the film these mistakes would have easily been noticed so continuous shooting is important.

I stuck to my filming schedule and it helped keep me organised. However the clips were not long enough so therefore I filmed extra outside of the schedule. The outdoor clips would have made up this time but due to discontinuous editing the lighting changed drastically which effected the flow of the film. Due to this I omitted them from the movie in replacement for more indoor clips. 

The prop list was helpful as it gave me a check list to look at before filming. Due to this there were no missing props in any of the clips. If I was not able to shot continuously this would have helped me set the scene up again making sure their is no change in props.  

Survey

I wanted to find out who my target audience would be so I could create my film with that specific audience in mind. To do this I created a questionnaire which I handed out to people at school and other friends and family.

I made the questionnaire simple so that everyone would understand but if there was anything the participants were unsure of anything I made sure that I would be there to answer questions.

I started by asking the age and gender of the participants to establish what kind of person I would try to aim my film for. I learned that the majority of possible audience members are female. 66% were female whilst only 33% were male.

The age gaps covered all ages and participants had to check which box they belong to. The results were:

• Under 10:  0%
• 11 - 15: 13%
• 16 - 25: 66%
• 26 - 30: 7%
• 31 - 40: 7%
• 41-50: 0%
• 51+: 7%

16- 25 was the most popular age group so I aim to attract audience members from that group. Due to this result I interviewed 16-25 year olds to find out more on what would attract these audience members. The result was that a good plot and favourite actors play a part in attracting an audience member.

 

I started asking more detailed questions such as what genres appeal the most. I asked participants to rank a list of genres with their favourite genre being number one and so forth. 

The top three genres were horror coming in first with 18%, crime coming in second with 16% and action in third with 13%.

I took the first two genres and I used them to create and idea of what type of film would be popular. Due to the results I decided that I wanted to create a film about a stalker because it incorporates horror and crime. 

I also asked about what elements of a film is important to the participants. Elements include things such as cinematography, soundtrack, costume and make up etc. To the participants plot was the most important aspect of a film with 24% of the vote. I knew that I would have to focus on the plot as it is a very important part of a film. Therefore within the opening I placed clues to the plot in the props and scenery. For example I used the investigation board at the end of the opening to show the tenacity of the stalker and this shows the audience what he is like. 

Another important aspect was the cinematography with 17% of the votes. From this I decided that I would also have to focus on the effects and general layout of the film. I used the flicker effect in the film as it adds life to the shots and makes them more interesting to look at. I also change the dimensions of the film so it had the 'black bar' effect. This is commonly associated with professional film and trailers so I used it to make my film look neater and more finished. 

The last question I asked was what were the participant's favourite thriller films. I did this to get an idea as to what kind of thriller films people like.  Below are some of the most commonly mentioned films. 

Image created on wordle.com

Learning How To Use Final Cut Pro 10

When it comes to editing my thriller I will be using Final Cut Pro X so on the "" we had a taster lesson so we can get to grips with the program and edit our thrillers efficiently.

The software is from Apple Inc and has been used to edit 'The Social Network', 'The Kids Are All Right', 'No Country for Old Men' and an up and coming film called 'Focus' featuring Will Smith.

During the lesson I learned about the layout, the basics of putting together clips, adding transitions and effects, how to use multicam and many other things. Below are my notes from the lesson which can be used as reference later on when I am editing.

Making the Soundtrack

My thriller is based around a piece of music which is synchronised with the clips and movements of the actors. After listening to a lot of music from opening titles I got the idea that I would like to create something quite heavy and textured. It was based on the opening music of 'Se7en' but with the beat 'Counting Bodies Like Sheep.

The use of mechanical sounds such as 'Information Factory' that was a Garageband preset was inspired by the TV show 'American Horror Story'. This theme has several looping noises that resemble industrial and household machines which I though would add a rough texture to my own piece. The theme can be found here.

To record my soundtrack I used Garageband which allowed me to piece together several tracks with ease. Garageband comes with its own preset tracks and loop which I used to complete my music.

I first started by adding a beat. Garageband makes it easy to create a drum track by picking a style and adjusting kick, snare,toms, percussion etc until you have found a beat that suits you. There are also different artist that you can pick from who all have individual styles. I pick Aiden as his style was quite heavy sounding. My drum line was rather basic as I only wanted it to serve as a metronome and not to have much focus on it so that the rest of the sounds take the main role. However it is the one consistent throughout the entire piece.
Next I added something before the drum line to add ambience and quiet before the kick of the drum. I used it to build up the tension.

This is often used at the beginning of theme for horror films. It is also used in the beginning of the 'American Horror Story' opening theme tune.

To start with the mechanical sound effects I first added a squeaky buzz noise as it resembles a drill. It creates an illusion of an industrial city which suits where I planned to film my thriller.  It plays with the theme of how stalking has been made easy through the world industrialising; evolving due to the advances in technology. There is also something rather eerie about industrial noises as they can be dangerous.

To find the noise I looked in the sound presets which can be found by clicking the loop button in the picture opposite. It is found to the right of the screen.

After adding the first noise I realised that I would need to start to fill in the piece a bit more quicker otherwise the main part of the the music would not come until the end of the piece. To do this I added a loop that I adjusted to be quite loud so it could compete with the drum. The loop was called 'Information Factory' and resembled the sound effects of the 'Portal' franchise which is renowned for industrial sounds.

After a while the music gets repeatitive so I added a new sound to change it. I added an echo-y scream sound which resembles 'Counting Bodies Like Sheep' where there is a male scream that is distorted and echoed. When I picked the preset sound it was much longer so I cut it using cmd + t and then used the sound line to create a fade out. By doing this it makes the effect sound cleaner then it would if I had just left the cut as it was.

I wanted to create more ambience so I added some road sound effects. Where I will be filming will be in a town where there will be the sound of cars on distant roads so I thought it would suit it especially as I would not be filming in sound so it would have sounded nice to add the ambience post-filming. There is also a low humming to the effect which builds up the texture of the sound.


Next I added 'Hit Impact' to add to the beat but also as it is a sudden noise it creates fear and tension. It has a reverb to it to make it sound more metallic sounding but it somewhat also makes its sound sinister by adding an echo-y feel to it. As it can symbolise a clock striking it creates the illusion of time running out which it is for the girl as her stalker approaches.

Lastly to end the piece I wanted a build up to the point where the stalker finally approaches his victim. I knew I wanted a swell as it would create a cresendo but I chose drone as it added to the metallic mechanical theme.


I decided after the cresendo I would end it on an anti-climax to give a eerie tone when the focus is on the board. To do this I faded out the music to the point where it is silent. After it is completely silent I will add a black screen to add to the quiet effect.